D&D 5E 5e has everything it needs for Dark Sun

[Rikka66]

If Elementals are part of Material Plane, then they can easily be psionic.

I for sure would not want that.

 

[Aldarc]

Real basic:
1) All High Magic defiles. (Elemental and Necromancy spells do not, this is specific for my campaign.) Defiling kills plant life and evaporates water in a (10xlevel) ft radius around the caster, it also inflicts (level-1)^2 damage (Physical save half) to everyone in the vicinity. Level 4-5 defiling is intentionally brutal.
2) A caster may make a Magic check (difficulty 6+spell level) to not defile. Failing this check means the spell defiles, OR the caster takes system strain equal to the level of the spell.
3) Preserver's Art: Commit effort for the day as an Instant Action whenever casting a high magic spell. This spell does not defile. (I might tweak this to scene, not sure if it's too punishing.) This art is available to High Mages, Elementalists, and Necromancers.

 

[Yaarel]

I for sure would not want that.

Having a psionic nature isnt the same thing as having psionic powers. It just means they have minds.

 

[Steampunkette]

.... you know...

If they put a Psionicist Class in a Dark Sun Book they could still have the Sorcerer as an alternate Psionicist...

Slap the spell point system on them, reflavor everything from "Spells" to "Powers" and "Arcane Magic" to "Psionics"... And then call them -Wilders-.

Charisma-Based Wilders that get -changed- by their powers, rather than it being "Exposure" or "Bloodline" or whatever as a background. Dragonblood Wilder is undergoing an unintentional and uncontrollable Psychometabolic Changes... So does the Undead Sorcerer, as they lose more and more of their vibrance and liveliness to the raw power within...

And, of course, Wild Magic Wilders just straight up have no freaking control whatsoever.

Could be a crazy fun angle to take Sorcerers in a Dark Sun Game.

 

[Rikka66]

Having a psionic nature isnt the same thing as having psionic powers. It just means they have minds.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but I've never thought of the elements as needing the psionic label to be thought of as having a conscience. Associating them as too many suggestions (in my head) I don't want.

 

[Yaarel]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but I've never thought of the elements as needing the psionic label to be thought of as having a conscience. Associating them as too many suggestions (in my head) I don't want.

I am coming from the perspective
• Psionics is "mind only!" and is the primordial magic that all other magical sources rest on top of.
• Psionics and Primal are the same thing, except Psionics is the minds of humanoids, while Primal also includes the minds of rocks and trees.
• Primal (= animism) is the minds of rocks and trees (and humanoids) in the Material Plane − different from the fey spirits in the Fey Plane.

Maybe a more helpful phrasing is that Elementals have a Primal nature.

 

[Rikka66]

I am coming from the perspective
• Psionics is "mind only!" and is the primordial magic that all other magical sources rest on top of.
• Psionics and Primal are the same thing, except Psionics is the minds of humanoids, while Primal also includes the minds of rocks and trees.
• Primal (= animism) is the minds of rocks and trees (and humanoids) in the Material Plane − different from the fey spirits in the Fey Plane.

Maybe a more helpful phrasing is that Elementals have a Primal nature.

Yeah, I just don't have that perspective (for the first two). To each their own, though.

 

[Steampunkette]

I am coming from the perspective
• Psionics is "mind only!" and is the primordial magic that all other magical sources rest on top of.
• Psionics and Primal are the same thing, except Psionics is the minds of humanoids, while Primal also includes the minds of rocks and trees.
• Primal (= animism) is the minds of rocks and trees (and humanoids) in the Material Plane − different from the fey spirits in the Fey Plane.

Maybe a more helpful phrasing is that Elementals have a Primal nature.

So... It might be more helpful to break it down into a structure of different forms of Supernatural Power. In alphabetical order.

Arcane Magic:
1) The magic of the Universe can be manipulated by specific rules
2) The magic of Creatures can be manipulated whether it's inside you or you tear out some Dragon's Teeth

Divine Magic:
1) Clerics get power from Gods directly
2) Paladins get power from Oaths to Concepts

Occult Magic:
1) Contracts and Concepts
2) Representational Magic

Primal Magic:
1) Nature's Cycles, Life and Death, Animals, Plants.
2) Spiritual Magic/Animism
3) Fey Powers
4) Elemental Power

Psionics:
1) Mental Focus alters the world around you.
2) Mental Focus alters the world within you.

Elementals have minds because they are entities. And a Psionicist could interact with their minds and so can a Wizard casting Detect Thoughts. But that doesn't make them Psionic any more than the average dog is Psionic.

Being Psionic isn't just having a mind, it's being able to use that mind to enact supernatural changes to the world around you, or within you.

 

[Yaarel]

One can think of levels of the mind, each one resting on top of the preceding one.

• Rock mind: desire to exist
• Plant mind: desire to grow and flourish
• Beast mind: desire to move and interact
• Humanoid mind: desire to learn and create

Psionics is mainly the humanoid level of the mind, but includes the lower aspects of nature.
Primal is mainly the lower aspects, but includes the humanoids as part of nature.

 

[Yaarel]

The 5e Feywild is an inconsistent mix. Some texts give it a "nature" theme, and some texts give it an "arcane" theme. In both cases, the immaterial fey spirits are disconnected from the Material Plane.

I think I am happiest with the Eberron version of the Feywild, a "fairy tale" theme. In this sense, the fey is a "Twilight Zone" where stories and narratives take on a life of its own. It is fundamentally unnatural. But the Fey plane can include stories about nature.

My only modification of the Eberron perspective is that these "stories" include stories about the future − and possible timelines. Thus, "fate" being the tapestry of timelines is an important aspect of the "Fae" as spirits of fate.

In any case, I view the Feywild as arcane, not primal.

Animism (primal) is absolutely about the Material World − and nowhere else.